Editor's note: Soup's own Danny Coe, a former test rider at Cycle, takes this opportunity to respond to Soup's story on the demise of Cycle, published last week. Coe recently tested the MV F4 1000R for this web site.

What John only lightly touched upon is that Cycle was exactly "what is was" for a reason. That reason was the EDITOR. The editor gave everyone his or her direction and essentially was responsible for the content and editorial flavor of the magazine. When you looked at Cycle, you were seeing the magazine collectively through the eyes of the editor as it was his book.

When Cook moved on, in or around '79, Phil Schilling took over. Phil was every bit the racer and expert that Cook was, just in a different sense. The magazine in its prime was actually full of racers. Jess Thomas, Cook, Kevin Cameron, Gordon Jennings, Mark Homchick, Pierre Des Roches, then later, Mike Haller, TW Blinkee, myself and more. We all were heavily involved.

As a matter of fact when looking back, the garage of Cycle always had some form of roadracer gracing its concrete. From the RG500 Suzuki that was presented to Cook as a gift from the factory which he rode one time at Riverside Raceway as a courtesy and then parked in one spot (untouched as it left the track) for the remainder of its existence, to the now infamous California Hot Rod and numerous TZ 250s, 125 gp bikes and many others. It is safe to say that Phil perpetuated the racing interest, as he was immersed in every aspect of motorcycle racing. For me this included a mentorship that I will always deeply appreciate, with only a few really being able to relate to being under that special wing. Ultimately I think it was Cook that started Homchick and it was Homchick and a lesser-known fellow by the name of Bart Rome that sparked my interest in on-road motorcycling. Cycle was the place to learn more about motorcycles and in looking back, it was indeed a special opportunity.

The location of Cycle was crucial to the magazine as well. We could leave the shop and literally be riding on any number of challenging canyon roads within minutes. To this day Cycle staffers are fortunate to have had this setting as a backyard always immediately available for testing. Had the mountain roads of Malibu been a carpet factory, no doubt I would have learned the art of cleaning carpets as well with John possibly being my apprentice.

Back to the point I wanted to make, the face of Cycle changed dramatically from the moment Cycle's ownership Ziff Davis publishing sold a select group of magazines to CBS. Jim Frahm, a member of CBS whom at the time also worked for the magazine division containing Cycle World (Cycle's closest competitor) soon replaced Cycle's publisher Tom Sargent. Seemed CBS had more layers of middle management than a French pastry. First Tom, and later Phil were both given golden parachutes and pushed from the plane by the magazines new ownership. From there Steve Anderson was immediately positioned into some very large shoes and assumed the role of editor officially taking the reigns. In my opinion Steve constructed a fine magazine and did a great job, but what made Cycle different essentially were the people and all were either gone or soon to be.

For me I'm pleased that many of the talented individuals formally at Cycle remain in the motorcycle industry. My comments and opinions don't even scratch the surface of things that went on, in and around the magazine, but my hopes are John's submittal and this might help to get more stories out, or at least the ball rolling.

Thanks Soup!